Social networks are a well known phenomenon, and various electronic systems to support social networking are known. Growing a social network can mean that a person needs to discover like-minded or compatible people who have similar interests or experiences to him or her. Identifying like-minded people, however, often requires a substantial amount of and time and effort because identifying new persons with common interests for friendships is difficult. For example, when two strangers meet, it may take a long and awkward conversation to discover their common interests or experiences.
Today, various social networking technologies exist to aid the process of connecting people. A typical modern computer-implemented social networking application requires each user to provide some biographical information, and/or identify his or her interests, and in some instances can suggest to the user other users with compatible interests. For example, some web sites such as LinkedIn.com or Facebook.com require participants to register as members. Each member can fill out a profile or provide other personal data such as professional interests, career information, interests in music, books, movies, and even information about political or religious beliefs. Matching algorithms can then use the profile or data provided to match members with members who are deemed compatible by the algorithms, under the assumption, for example, that matching people's interests and values can lead to successful new friendships or relationships within the social network. Some mobile device-based applications for identifying common interests require each user to configure the user's mobile device, including entering the user's interest, such as the things the user wishes to buy or sell, the kind of people the user wishes to meet, etc., before a social networking opportunity can be found for the user.